Crazy Times...

Hello friends.  It's been a while.  I have missed writing, and am happy to finally have some time to put the proverbial pen to paper.  This time of year always seems to be a busy time.  With completing my taxes, doing insurance stuff, and trying to buy a house, etc... I have been lucky to get a few hours of sleep a day.  On top of it all, my husband shocked me with a surprise visit!

I've been whining a lot to Vin that there has been so much going on at home that I haven't been readily able to do, and he has been away from home for work, that his " honey-do" list has become a mile long.  Yet, he hasn't spent more than a few days at home since the beginning of the year.  Well, instead of heading to his company's new location, he stopped at home for a  few days.  Not only did my amazing husband detour for me... he completely kept me in the dark up until the moment he knocked on the back door!  Usually Vin is terrible about keeping a surprise from me, but this time was a total success.  

My hubby must be trying to get a nomination for the best husband of the year award or something (he has my vote; always did!), because he was barely in the door and was already attacking my honey-do list!  He replaced the laundry room lights that I kept forgetting to go to the hardware store for (had been out for a month), fixed the leaky tub faucet and got a better shower head, sprayed the yard and treated the house against fleas, moved a bunch of our prepacked boxes (for when we buy our house) out of the way, got a whole new entertainment center set up so we could actually have room for for our flat screen TV  and a ton more that I cannot even remember.  All I had to do in return for his hard work was his laundry... boy did I get the easy side of the deal.

I haven't let him work the entire time he has been home, though.  We have hung out with friends, done some shopping, had cuddle time, played XBOX (I watched, he played.), and even found the time to take our fur-babies to the park for an annual fundraiser.  

Puppy Kissing Both!

I had to get a kiss from this cutie!

Every year, our local humane society and animal rescues host an event called "Bark in the Park."  There was food, raffle prizes, music, and a kissing booth!  I do miss the dog contests though.  They used to give awards for best pet costume, best trick, etc.  We settled for buying raffle tickets since there was no pet contest, and WOW!... the raffle contest paid off for us this year.  We won an entire Georgia Pecan Company gift basket, a love your pup prize pack, and a handmade (6 ft tall) gun cabinet.  Vin is totally stoked over the gun cabinet!  We also got to spend some quality time with out dogs, which was much needed.  Vin even taught our dog Junior how to cross a creek...LOL.

One of the highlights of the event was meeting a woman who happened to be 19 weeks pregnant with twins.  Initially I was cringing while in close proximity, but after taking to her for a few minutes I found out we had a similar pregnancy and infertility past.  This woman has endometriosis, has had previous miscarriages, and had decided on IVF.  On her first try, they have been able to get pregnant...with twin boy and girl.  She talked to me about the process, answered some of my questions, and gave me hope that IVF can work for us.  We even swapped numbers so that I could call her with any other questions that I might have.

Vin teaching our Junior to walk a creek at Bark in the Park.

As always though, all good things must come to an end.  After having Vin here for more than a week, it's almost time for him to head back to work.  He will be leaving on Saturday, and I will be a bit cranky over it.  But, as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.  Hopefully, I will be returning to work soon, and then we will get to reside in the same state again.  Not only that, but we hope to be able to buy our dream house at auction next week... so (if we are very lucky), the next time he comes home for a visit, it will be to our new house.  Wish us luck!

Rising From The Ashes...

Just a quick forward... This post does contain a bit about religion, and even some alternate though... In case you are not comfortable with this topic.

Happy belated Easter to All of the Christians, and Happy Belated Passover to all of the Jewish population; for all the rest that may read this blog... I hope that you are entering the month of April happy and healthy.  For my household, Easter was a quiet event, with a few giggles here and there, that just happened to contain a small epiphany for me. 

This is what had me cracking up.

As I have mentioned before, my husband works out of town.  So, with our recent trip to Florida, it meant that we had to be separated for this holiday weekend.  Hence, the pretty quiet weekend; it was just my Mom, the fur-babies, and me.  Not to mention, the house had a stomach bug (even the animals had upset tummies).  Needless to say, there was a lot of Pinteresting, television, books, and Facebooking going on.  

The fun part of the weekend came early on.  My mother happened to come across quite a funny meme on Pinterest.  It definitely made me laugh.  Nothing like being able to find a bit of humor in a crappy situation!  I also found some great projects that I can't wait to try, as soon as we have a new home to try them on.  On top of it all, I saw some great Easter and inspirational pins on Pinterest... and saw some of them again on Facebook.

Here is a stained glass window
of Jesus and Mary Magdalene
that can be found on the Isle of
Mull in Scotland. Notice the swollen
Belly.

My epiphany came later in the weekend, but at least one came.  I happen to be friends (and not just her "like" page) with my favorite author on Facebook, Kathleen McGowan.  Some of her posts can really bring life into focus for me.  Because of the Easter holiday, she was posting up bits of her book The Expected One on her page, and adding a bit of a more recent perspective to the excerpts.  Kathleen's book is about the relationship and marriage between Mary Magdalene and Jesus.  It is an amazing book, and she has put decades worth of research to her work.  Anyway, she recently lost her husband, Filip (a.k.a. Philip) Coppens, to cancer.  Some may have known Filip from his work on the History Channel's Ancient Aliens.  Kathleen's posts this week had a lot of reflection on better understanding the trials of the Magdalene following the death of Jesus, how Mary had to keep moving forward with her life and spreading the word of her husband; and how Kathleen's own widowhood has affected how she sees her own work.  In simple terms... Life cannot stop after tragedy.  

After seeing Kathleen's posts and thinking about Jesus's Resurrection, it lead me to a new train of though.  Spring.  Spring, like the resurrection, is a time of rebirth.  Plants begin to regrow, animals come out of hibernation, new animals are being born, and life begins anew.  Autumn may be a time of shedding the dead weight and Winter is the time of slumber,  but Spring is the time that the world come back to life after being dormant.  As a phoenix rises from the ashes, so does the Earth come back to life from the cold.  

All of this led me to the thought that this is my time to rise from my own proverbial slumber.  It's time to begin anew.  Every day may be the first day of the rest of our lives, but this weekend is a fine reminder that as a human, with freewill, we always have the ability to pull ourselves up from tragedy.   I know that this thought may seem obvious to most, and I have already told myself that I need to move on.  But, reflecting on the events of Easter has put my emotions and freewill into better perspective.   I know it's not easy, and I know that I will struggle (and I already have been struggling)... but if I don't rise from my own ashes, I may not be able to achieve my dreams.

Once Again, I have no intention to offend anyone with any discussion about religion.  I believe in accepting all people from all cultures and religions.  This is just my beliefs, and my epiphany.  Love to all!